View source for PowerPC Reference Platform

{{short description|Computer system architecture}}
{{Redirect|PReP|PrEP|Pre-exposure prophylaxis||Prep (disambiguation)}}
{{No footnotes|date=January 2016}}
{{POWER, PowerPC, and Power ISA}}
'''PowerPC Reference Platform''' ('''PReP''') was a standard [[system architecture]] for [[PowerPC]]-based computer systems (as well as a [[reference implementation]]) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by [[IBM]] in 1994, it allowed hardware vendors to build a machine that could run various operating systems, including [[Windows NT]], [[OS/2]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], [[Taligent]] and [[IBM AIX|AIX]].

One of the stated goals of the PReP specification was to leverage standard PC hardware. [[Apple Inc.|Apple]], wishing to seamlessly transition its [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] computers to PowerPC, found this to be particularly problematic. As it appeared no one was particularly happy with PReP, a new standard, the [[Common Hardware Reference Platform]] (CHRP), was developed and published in late 1995, incorporating the elements of both PReP and the [[Power Macintosh]] architecture.  Key to CHRP was the requirement for [[Open Firmware]] (also required in PReP-compliant systems delivered after June 1, 1995), which gave vendors greatly improved support during the boot process, allowing the hardware to be far more varied.

PReP systems were never popular.{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=January 2016}} Finding current, readily available operating systems for old PReP hardware can be difficult. [[Debian]] and [[NetBSD]] still maintain their respective ports to this architecture, although developer and user activity is extremely low.{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=January 2016}} The [[RTEMS]] real-time operating system provides a board support package for PReP which can be run utilizing the [[QEMU]] PReP emulator. This provides a convenient development environment for PowerPC-based real-time, embedded systems.

Power.org has a [[Power Architecture Platform Reference]] (PAPR) that provides the foundation for development of [[Power ISA]]-based computers running the [[Linux]] operating system. PAPR was released in the fourth quarter of 2006.

==See also==
* [[PowerOpen Environment]]
* [[IBM ThinkPad Power Series]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://public.dhe.ibm.com/rs6000/technology/spec/ PReP Specification Version 1.1 and related documents]
* [https://public.dhe.ibm.com/rs6000/technology/spec/jointhrp.ps The PowerPC (TM) Hardware Reference Platform], an overview of [[Common Hardware Reference Platform|CHRP]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120201132638/http://www.rtems.com/wiki/index.php/Qemuprep QEMU PReP emulation for RTEMS operating system] 

[[Category:PowerPC mainboards]]
[[Category:IBM computer hardware]]